The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for installing mine roof supports of the type which include a bolt which is mounted in a hole in the roof of the mine.
When a mine tunnel is cut into the earth, the material forming the roof of the mine is relatively weak and will tend to collapse unless it is supported. The roof of a mine has been supported by drilling holes in the roof of the mine and inserting bolts into the holes. The upper end of each bolt is anchored in a hole and the bolt is tightened against a mine roof support plate to compress material forming the mine roof.
When a mine roof is to be supported, a bolting machine has been used to drill holes in the roof of the mine. These holes may have a depth of eight feet or more. Once the holes have been drilled, a bolt must be placed in the hole. In a mine tunnel having a height of approximately three feet, it is necessary to bend an eight to ten foot long mine roof bolt two or three times as it is inserted into the hole. Due at least in part to the difficulty of placing mine roof bolts in the holes, there are, in favorable circumstances, two and perhaps three or four bolting machines for every mining machine.